Broken Mirrors
by eradicating
Summary: pre-game AU, WEAPONS are to be used and shared. On long-term hiatus.
1. Prologue

Chaos is part of every single particle in the universe. Naturally it was part of the Planet as well. The first intelligent beings on the planet were the Cetra. They understood chaos, and they understood the need for it, even though they were for the most part not very chaotic at all. They studied the Lifestream, tended it, and revered it. Then, after hundreds of years, the race known as humans started appearing on the Planet.

Now humans by nature were, still are, and always will be chaotic creatures. Before the appearance of humans on the Planet, the Lifestream was like a great flowing river, wrapped around and within the Planet itself. Now with humans a part of the Planet, parts of the Lifestream began to diverge into smaller streams. Naturally, the Cetra were concerned, but not overly so, because they understood that with the additions of humans on the Planet, there would be a slight increase of chaos which would cause these small diversions. They also knew that eventually these smaller streams will merge back into the main Lifestream itself. (When that would happen of course, no one knows.) Such was the way of things, and the Cetra was a patient race who would wait and watch as they have done since the beginning of their race.

Then the being known as Jenova came, whom the Cetra called the Calamity from the Heavens. The Planet cried out with fear and pain, and the Cetra went to war with the intruder. It was with great cost that the Cetra eventually contained the intruder, but perished in the process. The Planet itself was left with a wound that could not be healed for ages to come.

Jenova was a creature full of chaos, and even though it was eventually sealed, that chaos became a part of the Lifestream as well. With the increased chaos and the lack of ministrations of the Cetra, the Lifestream shattered. Instead of one main river and a few small, diverging streams, the Lifestream had split into hundreds of smaller rivers, with each smaller river diverting into even smaller streams. The rivers and streams themselves were not constant, but joined, diverged, and rejoined with each other so often that each stream no longer resembled each other in any way or form except for the constant image of the Planet itself... 


	2. Chapter 1

Written on the 8/21/2002, Edited on 8/24/2002. 

CHAPTER 1

The heat was particularly oppressive this afternoon. Despite the heat, however, several small figures were making their way along a broken, unstable trail that twisted its way around the mountains. No one knew what was beyond the mountains any more, not really. The trail itself was far too dangerous to take in all but the most desperate of circumstances, and ever since the mako reactor was built there were always various monsters just waiting to snack on any unsuspecting creature. It was far too time consuming to go around the mountains.

On by one, the group of small humans thinned, until only two were left, one walking boldly ahead, one lagging badly behind, but catching up rapidly. If you look at them a bit closer though, you could tell that the one walking ahead was a brunette, and the one behind was a blond. 

Suddenly, a small gust of wind, completely out of place in the oppressive afternoon heat, whispered passed the underside of the path, dislodging a few small grains of dirt.

The brunette human stepped boldly onto that section of the path, unaware of the potential danger, and those few grains suddenly became a few grains too many. The path began to rapidly crumble and disintegrate, prompting a frightened scream from the person that had stepped on it.

Further down the trail, the blonde heard the sound and ran toward it, heedless of his own safety.

By chance, the blonde saw a branch in the middle of the path that would have tripped him under normal circumstances. Instead of slipping on the piece of wood, losing his balance and falling as fate had clearly intended, the blonde completely avoided the potential stumbling block. Just as the brunette human began to fall, he arrived. Reaching out, he grabbed her on to her wrist, saving her from a fall that would have caused severe injury, if not death.

With a great deal of effort, the slight blonde pulled the brunette back up onto the path, then collapsed back on his bottom, panting heavily.

The brunette was panting, as well, though more from fear instead of effort. She turned towards the blonde, her eyes wide. "Cloud...you saved me." She whispered.


End file.
